Adjuvant radiation for soft tissue sarcomas

Over recent decades, limb-preservation surgery in combination with radiotherapy achieves local control rates exceeding 90% for extremity soft tissue sarcoma (STS). Local control is not as successful for retroperitoneal sarcoma (approximately 60%) despite aggressive surgical approaches including en bloc resection of uninvolved adjacent organs combined with intensity modulated radiotherapy (IMRT). This review will discuss the indications for adjuvant radiation therapy (RT) for primary presentation of soft tissue sarcoma: "What," referring to the type and manner of planning and delivery of RT; "When," referring to the timing and scheduling of RT; and "Why," referring to the rationale for the use of RT will be addressed. From a practical stand point, this Educational Chapter on "adjuvant RT" will focus on pre- and postoperative RT in the context of gross total resection for extremity and retroperitoneal soft tissue sarcoma, the two most frequent paradigms for the use of adjuvant RT.